Volume 6

Mobility

Volume six provides information on the dynamics of mobility of the Somali population.

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The findings show that in the year preceding the survey, almost 60,000 persons arrived from outside the country into Somali households.

Executive summary

The pattern of internal, international migration and nomadic movement by Somali households has been severely affected by droughts, insecurity and the civil war. It may also be affected by availability of socio-economic opportunities.

The findings show that in the year preceding the survey, almost 60,000 persons arrived from outside the country into Somali households. A quarter of these came from Libya, 18.8 percent from Kenya, followed by Egypt at 11.6
percent. About 55 percent of the immigrants were male and 45 percent were females. More than two-thirds of immigrants have not completed any level of education, which can be partially explained by the high percentage of
the immigrants belonging to younger age groups (0-14). Most immigrants settled in urban areas.

From the findings about 40,000 Somalis left the country in the year preceding the survey. The bulk of migrants originated from large cities, and close to half of them from only four regions, namely Banadir, Woqooyi Galbeed,
Lower Juba and Mudug.

Approximately 190,745 former household members are currently reported to be living abroad. Most reside in Saudi Arabia (14.6 percent), the United States of America (13.1 percent), the United Kingdom (10.5 percent) and Kenya
(8.6 percent). Out of all regions, households in Lower Juba have the highest proportion of persons living abroad; for every 1,000 persons living in Lower Juba, 62 people from the same region live in the diaspora.

According to the PESS data, net migration in the year preceding the survey was 2 per 1000 population. This indicates that there is an indifferent net in-migration rate of Somalis.

Almost 16 percent of all Somali households have migrated internally. Over half of internal migrant households are living in IDP camps, and approximately 40 percent in urban settings. There are two clear leading causes for internal
migration – insecurity and drought. Most households of internal migrants, including IDP households, expressed an intention to stay in their current location in the following year.

The data revealed that the movement of the nomadic population is predominantly within the same district (92.8 percent). Over one third of the nomadic population stay in the place where they usually live during the rainy season
for 4-6 months per year, almost 40 percent stay even for 7-12 months in the same place. These findings indicate different types of nomadic lifestyles and a general tendency of reduced nomadism with permanent search of new
pastures and waterholes.